


Smooth Talkers and Blushing Baristas

by Splashy



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, And Instagram, Dave trying to be smooth and a blushing Karkat, Humanstuck, I Blame Tumblr, I dont even ship it, I hope you enjoy this, M/M, Why Does This Exist, and the whole fandom, are you surprised you shouldnt be i love rosemary, hey looks theres a little bit of rosemary, potentially triggering (???), whoops this became longer than originally intended, why am i writing this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-05-31 08:26:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6463003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Splashy/pseuds/Splashy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave walks in a coffee shop and meets Karkat<br/>Smooth talking and blushing ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'll have the barista

**Author's Note:**

> The fuck am I writing this for I don't ship Davekat all that much  
> Well w/e I hope you Davekat shippers are happy  
> Also this will probably end up being a two-shot

Karkat gave a huff of annoyance as he waited for the girl in front of him to order. She had long black hair and bright green eyes. She was staring at the boards above, deciding what to get. Karkat's nails tapped against the counter, glaring at her. She seemed oblivious to his glares however, and continued to decide. Eventually, she turned to him and ordered.

"I'll just have some coffee, no cream or milk!" she chirped, voice rather high-pitched. He stared at her. Seriously? She took _that_ long just to get coffee, with no cream or milk? He groaned before punching in her order. He grabbed a cup and then looked back at her.

"And what name would you like me to put on the cup?" he asked in a monotone voice, having asked this hundreds of times before. You'd think he'd memorize other people's names, since most were regular customers. He never bothered to try and memorize them though. Why should he?

"Jade!" Seriously though, this girl needed to tone the fuck down. He grunted before writing her name down, and then handing the cup to someone else to make the drink. The girl took the cup, giving him a sympathetic look. He simply sneered at her and looked at who was next.

The male in front of him was tall, much taller than the admittedly quite short Karkat Vantas. Tall, and quite cute. He had blond hair, and...were those sunglasses? Why was he wearing sunglasses _indoors?_ The boy stared at him, smirking. Karkat scowled. "What would you like?" he spat out.

"Hmm..." He looked up at the menu for a bit before looking back at Karkat, where his smirk seemed to grow even more smug. "You know what? Forget the menu. I'd much rather have the barista." Karkat spluttered in astonishment before scowling again, his cheeks taking on a red shade.

"Fuck off," he growled, hearing a faint "language!" from one of the other workers. Karkat just simply rolled his eyes. The boy continued to smirk.

"Well, if you insist, I suppose I can settle for second best. I'll have a caramel frappuccino," the male said.

"Name?"

"Dave."

Karkat put the name on the cup and handed it off to someone else. Once Dave paid, he moved on to the next.

The next day, Dave returned, and at the exact same time as the previous day. Right at 1:00. Once more, he asked for the barista. Karkat simply flipped him off and waited for him to tell him what he really wanted. Once more, he ordered a caramel frappuccino. This continued on for the whole week, and only served to piss Karkat off every time he saw the tall blond.

But as time passed on, Karkat found himself eyeing the time, waiting for him to come. While Dave asking for the barista annoyed him, it didn't bother him as much as it used to. Now he just rolled his eyes. Much as he didn't want to admit it, he had started to grow on to Dave. He eagerly awaited him coming each day, and the two had started to talk while Dave waited for his drink.

All in all, Karkat realized he had started to get a massive crush on Dave.

Now, it wasn't like most crushes. Or at least, he didn't think it was. Karkat had only had a couple of crushes before this, and they were just short ones, ones that were gone within a month. But Dave had been coming for a month and a half, and he still had that damn crush on him.

One day, the clock struck 1:00. But there was no Dave. At 1:30, there was no Dave. 2:00, 2:30, still no Dave. His brows creased in worry. It was a Friday, and Karkat just couldn't wait until he could get home. He normally got off at 2:30, but he wanted to stick around, see if he showed up. But no matter how long he waited, Dave still didn't show up. He eventually left at 5:00, after hanging around until then. He trudged home, wondering where the fuck Dave was.

He had a quick dinner, ramen noodles, before playing video games until 12:00. He got into bed then, still wondering where Dave had been. Had he just been busy? Did he have a class then? Had he skipped that first time, and then just kept skipping to see him, and decided to actually go to class that time? Karkat had no idea what his schedule was. He didn't have any classes with the blond male.

With questions swirling in his mind, he drifted off to a fitful sleep. He woke multiple times throughout the night, and managed to get back to sleep. At about 10:00, he woke and couldn't get back to sleep. Yawning, he made his way to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he saw bags under his eyes. Sighing, he turned on the shower and took a quick one. Once he stepped out, he quickly got dressed in his work clothes and headed off to work.

He worked later on Saturdays, much to his annoyance. At around 11:00, he was taking people's orders just like every day. He hated working here, but he needed the money.

He kept glancing between the clock and the door as it neared 1:00. He still wondered where Dave had been, and hoped he would be here today. He grew a bit fidgety as it passed 12:50.

At exactly 1:00, the bell above the door chimed and in walked Dave. He didn't look any different, and strolled right up to the counter.

"Where the hell were you?" Karkat growled, eyes narrowed. Dave smirked.

"What, did you miss me?" Karkat simply scowled at that.

"What do you want?" he grunted.

"I believe you know. But, just in case you don't, I think I'll take the barista," Dave said, the smirk ever present on his face. Karkat rolled his eyes. "No? Alright, fine. I'll have a caramel macchiato. Going with something different this time."

Karkat rolled his eyes again and handed the cup over to someone else. He continued to talk with Dave as he waited, but didn't mention where he had been the previous day. Karkat didn't particularly feel like asking, so he watched as Dave left without him ever knowing. And maybe he never would know.

A few more weeks passed, and Karkat's crush on the boy only ever grew. Finally, exactly 2 months after he first met him, he decided he had to do something. Anything. He decided he would simply write his number on the cup, underneath Dave's name. That ought to work, right? As he went to bed, he found himself slightly dreading the next day, but also excited for what it might hold. At least, as excited as his grumpy ass could get. Which, let's be honest here, isn't really all that exciting.

So the next day, at exactly 1:00, Dave came. He asked for the barista once more, to which Karkat simply rolled his eyes. When he finally told him what he wanted-a caramel macchiato-Karkat wrote Dave's name on the cup. Underneath that, he quickly scribbled his number, making sure it was legible, as well as "Fine. Have the barista" underneath it. He handed it over to one of the other workers who looked at it and then back at him, smirking. Karkat scowled at her.

Karkat had a light blush on his cheeks watched Dave get his drink. He turned to the writing and looked over at Karkat. He could have sworn there was a surprised look on his face before it gave way to a smirk. "'bout time," he chuckled. Karkat flipped him off


	2. The date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave and Karkat go on a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly wasn't expecting to update today but I got bored so here.  
> Also I'm thinking of making this more than just a two-shot. I dunno how many chapters there will be, so we'll just have to find out uwu

Over the course of about a week, Karkat and Dave would text whenever possible. Dave still came to the coffee shop every day, although he no longer asked for the barista. As Karkat wrote Dave's name on the cup, Dave almost seemed like he was contemplating something. He just looked at him, a mix of mild curiosity and annoyance clear on his face.

"Yo karks, I've been thinking about something," Dave said, leaning against the counter. Karkat simply raised his brow. "We've really only been talking via text and whenever I come over for my daily coffee." A pause. "So, I was wondering. Would you like to get something to eat after this?"

Karkat blinked in surprise. Was he really...Asking him out? He had to admit that he was not expecting this. Ever since he gave Dave his number, he wasn't really sure what their relationship was. He supposed that this would make them boyfriends...right?

He sure hoped so.

"Uh, y-ye, sure," he stuttered, silently cursing himself for stuttering. He had no reason to be nervous, dammit! 

For the rest of his shift, he constantly glanced at the clock, willing for it to turn to 2:30 already. Dave had left a bit earlier than normal, so he didn't really have anyone to talk to. He had had a quick lunch as normal, and had to admit that he was quite hungry.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the clock struck 2:30 and he was free to go. He quickly got dressed in normal clothes, rather than his work uniform, and got out his phone, where he proceeded to call Dave. He answered rather quickly, and Karkat told him to come pick him up. He then hung up and waited impatiently for the blond to come.

Dave arrived soon enough, and the two began to walk somewhere. Karkat asked Dave where they were going, but Dave simply said it was a "surprise." Karkat gave a huff of annoyance, but didn't pry any further.

Eventually, Dave stopped. Karkat looked up, and saw a sign that said "Jade's Frozen Yogurt" The building was white, with bright green accents. He blinked before looking back at Dave, an eyebrow raised. "Frozen yogurt? Really?" Dave simply shrugged in response and opened the door, motioning for him to go inside. He rolled his eyes and walked in. 

Upon entering, a girl who was sitting at the counter looked up. "Welcome! I'm Jade. To get started, simply take one of the cups over there," she pointed to a pile of cups by a counter that had levers and different flavors of yogurt, "and fill it with as much as you like!" Karkat swore that voice sounded familiar.  
"Come on karks, let's go get some frozen yogurt," Dave said, striding over to the levers.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming," Karkat grumbled as he followed. He grabbed a cup and looked at the flavors. There were a lot of interesting flavors, but he decided to just go with chocolate. You could never go wrong with chocolate. Once he filled the cup, he moved on to the different toppings. There were an awful lot of toppings, way too many than was necessary. He decided to just put some M&Ms in his cup, as well as a few Reeses and moved on. He looked over at Dave to see that he had gotten both vanilla and chocolate, and lots of toppings. He rolled his eyes before setting his cup down on the counter. Dave set his down next to Karkat's and insisted upon paying. Karkat opened his mouth to object, but then thought better of it and closed it with a huff.

Once Dave had paid, they took their frozen yogurt to one of the tables and sat down. They began to eat their yogurt in an almost awkward silence.  
"So where were you that one day?" Karkat asked after swallowing some of his yogurt. He had never asked where Dave had been the day he wasn't here. Dave was silent for a bit, contemplating. 

"Somewhere," he answered. Karkat hadn't noticed at first, but now he could see that Dave's shoulders had tensed up just the slightest.   
"Where?"

"It doesn't matter." Dave waved him off. The two continued eating in silence. 

Once they finished, Dave and Karkat got up. Dave took their cups to the trash can and dropped them in before walking back over to Karkat. "Ready to go?" Karkat simply nodded.

The two began to walk towards Karkat's dorm. There was an awkward silence as they walked, but neither really felt like saying anything. 

When they arrived, Dave stood in front of the door for a bit, almost fidgeting. Karkat shifted his feet. "Well, uh, I'll see you tomorrow I guess," he murmured.  
Suddenly, Dave grabbed Karkat's hand as he turned to leave and twirled him around, pressing his lips against Karkat's. Karkat's eyes opened in surprise as a noise escaped his mouth before he started kissing him back. Dave pulled away and then stood there awkwardly for a bit more before he turned around and quickly walked away, head down, leaving a bewildered Karkat behind.

"Hey Dave, wait!" He ran after him and managed to grab his arm. Dave yanked his arm away and Karkat managed to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a bruise on his arm before Dave pulled his sleeves back over his arm and continued walking away.

Karkat stared after him in confusion. Why was there a bruise on his arm? What had happened? And why did he run off like that? Karkat had to admit that he was thoroughly confused. Sighing, he decided to shrug that off for now and get inside his room. It was nearing 4:00 and he had some homework that he needed to do. He opened the door and closed it behind him.

He grabbed some homework that needed to be done and started working on it. After quite a bit of time-5 hours-he had finished. Why did there always have to be so much homework? He sighed and glanced at the clock. It was 9:10. He could either go to bed for once, or play some video games. He decided to go to bed. It had been a long day and he just wanted to sleep.

Yet as he lay in bed, he couldn't help but replay the kiss and seeing Dave's bruise in his mind over and over again. Why had there been a bruise? Was there something Dave wasn't telling him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is Dave hiding?? o:


	3. Dave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a bit about Dave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for absolutely nothing. 
> 
> Also this is like half the length of the other chapters but shit happens. Also it was written on my phone which is dying soon so-

The next day, Dave didn't show up. Karkat waited and waited, but all to no avail. He even stayed later than usual, but still no Dave. He thought about texting him, but then decided against it. He didn't want to bother him. Maybe he was just busy...? He wanted to believe that he just had somewhere to be, but the image of the bruise on Dave's arm still haunted his thoughts. 

He didn't show up the next day.

Or the day after that. 

3 days after the kiss, and Karkat had had no sign of the blond boy. Needless to say, he was getting very worried. Where was he? He decided that 3 days was enough, and sent him a quick text asking where he was.

30 minutes later, no reply.

An hour, no reply. 

Karkat could just feel his heart fill with dread as it got to 2 hours with no reply. Was he purposefully ignoring him? He must be. But why?

Now that he thought about it, he had never seen Dave without something covering his arms. Maybe this was why. 

Were there more bruises than what he had seen? Were his arms littered with bruises?

Were there things worse than bruises?

 

DAVE'S POV  
*3 days back*

Dave felt like his heart was pounding. He had kissed Karkat! He had actually done it! He had also gone on a date with the grumpy boy. Sure, it had been awkward, but he had still done it.

And now his bro was going to kill him. If he knew he had dated a guy... 

Dave didn't want to think of what he would do to him. His fingers traced lightly over his bruises and scars. Karkat had seen one, hadn't he? Dammit, he had tried his hardest to hide them from him!

Nobody deserved to see how fucked up Dave was. 

And fucked up he was. His bro never let him forget that.

Every day, the two of them would strife. Every day, with each strike, his bro would remind him of how fucked up he was, calling him different names. 

"Idiot"

"Worthless"

"Faggot"

The last one would always resonate in his mind.

He tried to ignore them, but it was hard. He had scars from some of the times he let the words get to him and slacked in the strifing. 

Quickly shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts, he began to walk home. He lived close enough to the college that he could just continue living at home, even though he desperately didn't want to. He didn't have a choice. He had just barely managed to get enough money to even attend the college in the first place, let alone get a dorm. His bro refusedto help him pay for anything, so he had to do it all himself. He had to live with living with his bro.

Even if it could kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun
> 
> Are you crying 
> 
> Good


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been a long time. Too long, I know. Over a year. Oops. 
> 
> Here's the next chapter of this fanfic! Since it's 4/13, I figured I may as well update it. I had a few paragraphs already done, and just decided to continue writing. I hope to update it more often. I've gotten kind of invested in this story now, especially now that stuff is actually happening. 
> 
> Anyway enjoy this. Or don't.

It's been 5 days since Dave was last at the coffee shop. He knows he can't stay away like this, but it just hurt to go back. He didn't want to see Karkat, but at the same time he did. And he knew staying away for such a long time would only make it worse, but even that didn't make him go. He knew he had to go soon, though.

_Tomorrow. I'll go tomorrow._ Tomorrow seemed like as good a time as any to go. He couldn't go today, it was already past the time he usually went. He wasn't sure if Karkat would still be on his shift. 

His phone buzzed. He glanced at it and saw that Karkat had texted him again. He sighed and looked at it. Karkat had texted him many times, and he ignored them each time. He really has to stop ignoring him. He glanced at his phone. Karkat had sent him a simple text with his name, and a question mark. He hesitated, but began to type a reply.

**Dave: hey**

**Karkat: DAVE WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?**

**Dave: sorry bro, i've been busy**

**Karkat: WITH WHAT?**

**Dave: doesnt matter**

**Dave: i'll coming back tomorrow**

**Karkat: OH THANK GOD.**

He decided to leave it at that. Pocketing his phone, he stood from his spot on the couch. His bro wasn't home, thankfully. He glanced at the clock. 9:43pm. Bro was probably out doing god knows what. He wouldn't be home for a few hours, so Dave had the house to himself for a while. He didn't really know what to do.  
Dave got onto the computer and began to message his best friend, John, on Pesterchum.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering  ectoBiologist [EB]

TG: sup egbert   
EB: hey dave!   
TG: whats up  
EB: nothing much  


The two continued to talk for a moment until John had to go. Dave glanced at the time. It was nearly 11. He stretched and got up, heading to the bathroom to take a quick piss. He began to get ready to go to bed. He picked up his phone to charge it when he realized he had a text from Karkat. He hesitated before opening it.

**Karkat: DAVE?**

**Dave: what's up**

**Karkat: WHY WERE YOU GONE FOR SO LONG?**

**Dave: i told you i didnt want to talk about it**

**Karkat: I KNOW**

**Karkat: IT'S JUST**

**Dave: what**

**Karkat: NEVERMIND.**

**Karkat: GOODNIGHT, DAVE.**

**Dave: night**

Dave turned off his phone, set it down, and crawled into bed. He lay awake for a while, just staring up at the ceiling with his shades off. He thought about what he would do tomorrow and chills raced down his spine. He had to face Karkat again. His chest seemed to compress at that. He couldn't do it. There was no way. The last time he had seen him, he kissed him. The last time he had seen him, Karkat had seen at least one of his bruises; he was sure of it. There was no way he could face him again. So he just wouldn't go. He had said he would, but so what? Since when did promises ever mean anything? He rolled over on his side and fell into a restless sleep.

 

Dave woke to the sun shining in through the window. He quickly glanced at the time and saw that it was a little after noon. He could change his mind and go. He'd still make it in time, probably. He watched the clock for a moment as the seconds ticked before deciding against going. With a grunt he got up and looked at his phone. No new messages, much to his relief.

He slowly walked out of his room, looking around for bro. He listened very closely and for a moment thought he was safe.

"Hey, lil' man."

He froze. Dave wasn't safe; he was here! He didn't move, trying to calm his racing heart. But there was no hope for that now.

"Ready to strife?"

 

KARKAT'S POV

Dave wasn't here. It was past 3, and he wasn't here. He _promised_ he would come! Karkat quickly took out his phone and saw there were no texts. He looked at the time before looking back at the person in front of him. She was medium height, taller than Karkat but shorter than Dave. Her blonde hair was cut in a bob and he realized she looked strikingly similar to Dave.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

"I don't actually want anything. I need to talk to you," the girl said, her voice cool.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" he asked in bewilderment.

"It's about Dave."

Oh.

"What about him?" he asked, an eyebrow raising. The girl looked around briefly.

"Can you get off work for a moment?"

"I...yeah, hold on." He turned to Kanaya who was watching the girl with interest. He had to snap his fingers in her face in order to get her attention.

"Oh! Sorry, Karkat. What do you need?" she asked, forcing her gaze away from her. 

"I need to take off work for a moment. Cover for me." With that, he walked out from behind the counter and followed the girl to a corner. As soon as they sat down at one of the tables, she began speaking.

"As I'm sure you've noticed, Dave hasn't been here for a while," she spoke quickly and quietly, almost as if she were in a hurry.

"Whoa, hold the fuck on. Who even _are_ you, and how do you know Dave?" Karkat asked. The girl gave a huff of annoyance.

"I'm Rose. Dave's sister. I came here because I need your help." Rose glanced at the time briefly.

"What? Why?"

"Dave's been injured. I don't have a lot of time. He needs to get away from bro, and soon. He needs somewhere to stay. I can't have him with me, since I already have a roommate. He has to room with you. There's no other person he'd trust enough to do this. You understand, yes?" Rose asked, staring at him with...were those purple eyes? She had to have contacts.

"What? You want me to _room_ with him? And what do you mean, injured? What happened between him and his bro?" 

"Look, I don't have time to explain, and it's not mine _to_ explain. The only thing that matters is that he gets away from bro soon. I need you to come with me. Now." Rose stood up, looking down at him.

"I can't just get off work!"

"I believe the health of someone you care about is more important than work at the moment," Rose pointed out.

"Yeah, alright. Fine." Karkat got up as well and walked over to Kanaya. "Kanaya, I'm sorry, I have to go. Something's come up, and I can't wait. Can you just...cover for me for the rest of my shift? I'll make it up to you." he talked quickly, air rushing out of his mouth. Kanaya stood there for a moment before nodding. He walked away before she had the chance to actually speak. Rose was by the door, waiting for him.

"What's her name?"

"What?"

"The girl you talked to. What's her name?"

"Kanaya. Why?" he asked, looking at her as though she were crazy. Rose just hummed and didn't say anything. She went up to her car and got in. Karkat got into the passenger side. Rose turned the car on, backed out of the parking space, and drove off. The two sat in silence for several minutes before Karkat spoke up. "Where are we going anyway?" Rose glanced at him briefly.

"The hospital."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have a plan for this fanfiction, I was just writing it. Seeing where it went. And...this is where it went for me. I hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I try my best to never let you in to see the truth_   
>  _And I've never opened up_   
>  _I've never truly loved till you put your arms around me_   
>  _And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow lookit that only like 2 days later there's an update
> 
> please do not expect updates this quickly i guarantee you will be disappointed. I was in the mood to write, and had some ideas for the next chapter so. Here it is. 
> 
> I chose this song bc I just so happened to be listening to it ~~it's in a gravity falls video~~ and i thought it was v fitting. Song is Arms by Christina Perri.
> 
> Also I feel like it is very ooc so i apologize for that

"What?!" Karkat had known Dave was injured, since Rose had told him, but he hadn't realized it warranted him being in the hospital. 

"He did get rather injured. More so than usual. Something was definitely bothering him." Rose glanced out of the corner of her eye at Karkat. "It's not hard to guess why." Karkat gave a little huff.

"He did fucking promise me he would come back to the coffee shop today. Wait, am I the reason he's so injured? Was he that fucking worried about seeing me again?" He looked over at Rose, his mouth open in slight shock.

"Well, I can imagine it would play a part in it. But it's not entirely your fault. His bro is a piece of shit, after all," Rose said calmly.

"What is his bro...like? He's never mentioned him before." Karkat paused. "Is he...Is he the one who gave Dave that fucking bruise?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, although a part of him seemed to already know.

"Bruises. There's more than one. And bro is someone who has no right to raise a child. How Dave has lasted this long is beyond me."

"Aren't you two siblings?"

"We were split at birth. I lived with our mom and sister, while he lived with our dad, who he calls bro for whatever reason. Living with my mom wasn't...the best, but I can only imagine it's a lot better than living with bro. The two strife nearly daily, going at each other with real swords. Dave's covered in scratches, and as far as I can tell, he hasn't been able to get a single one on bro." Rose sighed. By that point, they had gotten up to the hospital. She parked the car and got out, leading Karkat toward the front desk in silence. The silence allowed him some time to think over this new information.

Karkat led Rose do all of the talking. He was too busy musing over the information he was given. So bro was his incredibly abusive guardian. No wonder he was so closed off and tried to hide his bruises. He realized with a chill that he had been right - there were things worse than bruises. Much worse. 

He realized he had been staring, lost in thought. He quickly snapped back to reality as Rose snapped her fingers in his face. He scowled at her, but followed as she walked through a hallway. With a jolt, he noticed he was dreading meeting Dave again. Dave had been purposefully avoiding him, and now Karkat knew why. His feet scuffed the pristine white floor as he walked, leaving black marks that he felt no regret for. After a moment, Rose stopped in front of a door and looked at Karkat briefly before opening it. She stepped back to allow him to enter first.

Karkat's immediate thought was that it was white. Everything was white, and it was nearly blinding. White floors, white falls, white machinery. In the midst of it all lay Dave. His back was propped up against a pillow and he was looking out a nearby window. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his whole torso was wrapped in bandages, as well as parts of his arms. He could see a bruise or a scratch here and there. When he heard the door open, he turned. Upon seeing Karkat, he quickly looked back out the window again. Karkat felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

"I'll leave you two alone for a moment. Don't take too long," Rose murmured, closing the door behind her as she stepped away. 

Karkat stood there, hands shoved in his pockets. There was an awkward silence that seemed to stretch on for hours. Eventually, Dave spoke up.

"Sup." Karkat blinked in confusion and surprise.

"Sup? I finally see you after 6 days, and you're in a hospital, injured, and all you can manage is _sup?_ " Karkat asked, incredulous.

"Yeah."

The awkward silence continued. It was even worse than before. After a few more minutes, Karkat just couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, I can't take this damn silence anymore. Where the fuck have you been? What the fuck has this bro been doing to you? Are you..." Karkat paused, eyeing Dave. "Are you going to be okay?"

"At home, avoiding human interaction. And failing, for the most part. We strife almost daily. And probably." Dave shrugged, but judging by the wince that came afterwards, instantly regretted it. 

"I...Okay. Ooookay. Well. Has...Rose talked to you any about living somewhere...else?" Karkat asked cautiously. Rose would have told him, right? He sure hoped so.

"No. Dunno where the fuck else I could live. Can't afford to get a dorm. Bro refuses to pay for shit, and my...mom won't pay for me either. She'll practically baby Rose and Roxy, but she can't seem to care about me." Dave continued to stare out the window for a moment before turning to Karkat. It was then that Karkat realized he still had his shades on.

"Well...If needed, you could stay at my dorm, I guess. I do need a roommate. My old one cancelled at the last minute, so the spot's been free since college started." Karkat shuffled his feet, hoping Dave would take this news well. If he didn't...he wasn't sure what he would do. He missed Dave, and while he did still have a major crush on him, and they _had_ gone on a date, it didn't seem like Dave wanted to ever bring that up again. Which was fine. He could live without dating Dave.

Dave was silent for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about what to say. Karkat could almost see and hear the gears in his head turning. Finally, he sighed and spoke. "I can't."

The answer completely shocked Karkat. Sure, he wasn't expecting him to immediately jump at the idea, but he definitely wasn't expecting him to _reject_ the idea. "What? And why the fuck not?"

"Bro would kill me. Or worse. The really bad scars are from when I've done really terrible things. Like when-" Dave stopped himself. He was silent for a moment before giving a small cough. "I deserve them all, anyway. It's all my fault. I get distracted when strifing, and slip up. It's happened a lot. But it's fine, I'll live. He wouldn't try to kill me or anything." Dave shrugged again, seeming to fight the urge to wince at the pain. Karkat just stood there, dumbfounded.

" _What?_ Holy shit, Dave, you do not deserve those! It's not your fucking fault! And I don't care if he's not trying to kill you, you need to get out of that damn house _now!_ " He was about to say more, but right at that moment, the door opened and Rose walked in, followed by a doctor.

"I hope you guys made good use of your time. No awkward silences?" She glanced between the two.

"Rose, Dave said he can't move in with me. But he fucking _needs_ to! Living with bro isn't go-" He was cut off by Rose speaking.

"Yes, Karkat. I know." She turned to Dave. "Dave, you do realize the importance of this, right? You are finally given a chance to be rid of your bro. You can live with someone you know, even if you haven't seen them in 6 days and it's awkward. You can finally be in a place that is safe. No more strifing. Your scratches and bruises can finally heal without being reopened every time you battle. Surely that's much better than your current conditions?" Rose asked, keeping her gaze level with Dave's. Dave hesitated.

"It does sound better," he admitted grudgingly. Rose smiled.

"Thought so. You'll need to stay in here for a week to make sure things heal properly. Meanwhile, I will talk with bro in getting you transferred over to Karkat's dorm. I will make him see reason if he does not at first." With that, Ros emotioned for Karkat to follow her. "I will return within a couple of days. Karkat, you don't have a car, correct?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Then you'll have to wait until he gets free from the hospital. I can drive you home today, but I won't be able to drive you here any other time. I had to take time off my own job in order to do this. I figured it was important enough." Rose turned around after saying a quick bye to Dave and walked down the hallway. Karkat quickly said bye to Dave as well and followed her, struggling to keep up with her fast pace. The two got out to the parking lot and into her car. Before long, they were headed toward Karkat's dorm.

 

A week later, Dave was freed from the hospital. His wounds were fine, and with him no longer strifing, should heal in no time. Or so Karkat was told. He was working, taking orders for people and making drinks as per usual. Rose hadn't come in in a while, other than a brief visit the day before to tell him that she was bringing Dave the next day at 2. He eyed the clock impatiently as 2 came and went. Finally, at about 15 after, Rose and Dave walked in.

Dave was wearing a red and white shirt as usual, while Rose wore a whtie shirt with a weird purple octopus-like symbol on it. As the two walked in, Kanaya looked up and seemed to lock eyes with Rose. The connection was brief, as Rose soon turned to look at Karkat.

"Alright. Here he is, all nice and...mostly healed. They'll heal fully within time. Now, he does have classes. Don't know how often he actually goes to them," she turned to glare at Dave, "but I trust you to at least get him to try. He can tell you his own schedule. Now, I need to go. But first, I think I'll get a drink..." She immediately turned to Kanaya who seemed surprised by the sudden attention. Karkat quickly averted his attention, hearing what vaguely sounded like flirting. He turned to Dave.

"So."

"So."

"I get off work in a few minutes. We can walk to me dorm, I guess. Get you all situated and shit." He could hear the beginnings of Kanaya protesting against his use of language, but he simply flipped her off without even looking at her. 

Soon 2:30 rolled around and Karkat led Dave in the direction of his dorm. He had been there before, of course, but he hadn't actually been inside. Karkat unlocked the door and allowed Dave to go in first. Dave was silent during all of this, though he seemed to be debating on whether or not to talk. Karkat walked in after him and shut and locked the door behind him. He heard a thud as Dave set down his bag of clothes and other essentials. 

"Well. This is my dorm. That one is my bed. You can sleep in the other," Karkat murmured, pointing to each bed in turn. When Dave didn't say anything, he turned around to face the blond guy, a question already forming on his lips. Upon seeing his face, however, his voice faltered and he stood in silence for a moment before speaking. "Dave?"

The word seemed to trigger something, as next thing he knew, he was wrapped up in a hug by someone much taller than him. He let out a squeak of surprise before slowly hugging him back. Dave was tense, perhaps from the physical contact. Or maybe because his wounds still hurt. But still, he didn't let go. The hug lasted at least a minute before Dave finally pulled away. He picked up his bag and walked over to his bed, setting it down before sitting down beside it. Karkat awkwardly walked over to his bed and sat down. 

The two still had a lot of time before it was dark, and much as Karkat didn't want to, he had homework to do. He glanced over at Dave. "I don't know what classes you take, but I have homework I need to do. Much as I'd love to sit in this awkward as fuck silence, I need to do this." He got up and walked over to where his work was, on his desk. It was a rather large desk, and had room for two people to sit. He made sure there was room for Dave before starting on his homework. Not long after, Dave joined him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the longest, at a total of at least 2000 some words. I thought about splitting it into two chapters but decided against it. My fingers really hurt now though welp. I also wasn't really sure how to end this chapter oops
> 
> Anyway! Feel free to give kudos, comment, maybe even bookmark! I love comments. I hope to update this regularly. At least once every other week, although I'll try to aim for once a week. Maybe every saturday? We'll see.


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